After being charged with genital mutilation on two 7 year old girls, Dr. Jumala Nagarwala, a 44-year-old emergency room physician, now claims that it was her religious duty!

She denies mutilating the girls, saying instead that she performed a religious procedure, that did not involve cutting!
After a medical check-up there is clear evidence that the girls were cut!

“There is no religion that promotes FGM and if there is, what kind of religion is this? It’s a poor excuse in order to control a woman’s sexuality. This woman and all people who claim FGM to be their religious or cultural duty are a real threat to our community. It’s terribly wrong. It’s against EVERYTHING that God ever created!”- Waris Dirie

Over 500 000 girls and women living in the USA are affected by FGM and the numbers are increasing.
Dr. Nagawala’s case is the first to be brought in the USA under a federal law criminalizing the practice. Currently 24 U.S. states have additional laws against FGM.
There are laws against FGM but it’s still practiced all over the world.

Governments, religious leaders and everyone of us have to STOP this crime against humanity. Laws are not enough, it needs the willingess to act!

Waris Dirie and her Desert Flower Foundation issued a Manifesto which now, ten years later, is more relevant than ever!

Last week 44-year old Dr. Jumana Nagarwala was charged with genital mutilation on minor girls in the USA.

Nagarwala, who is a U.S. citizen of Indian descent born in Washington D.C., has been performing FGM on girls between the age of 6 and 8 years at the Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan for over a decade!

In 2012 the US government introduced a new federal law making FGM a crime. Nagarwala is the first person in the USA to be charged under this law.

Nagarwala is not only being accused of performing FGM, but also of transportation of an individual with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and lying to a federal agent. As a result Nagarwala, who is a part of the Dawoodi Bohra Islamlic sect, could face a life in prison. She will remain in custody until her court date.

One of the alleged girls was brought to Dr. Nagarwala after her parents promised her a “special girl’s trip”. Her labia minora, the flaps on either side of the vaginal opening, was removed. Her clitoral hood was also damaged, according to the criminal complaint.
Despite this evidence, Nagarwala is still denying to be involved in FGM procedures!

“I am beyond devastated. She swore an oath to save people’s lives, while she was hurting our most vulnerable community members, our children! She didn’t only hurt them physically, but she also took their dignity! I demand the maximum sentence for the doctor and the parents! I ask our governments to act now. Our community needs to wake up: FGM is happening in front of our eyes and it needs to stop NOW!” – Waris Dirie.

Over 200 million girls and women are affected by FGM worldwide, at least 513 000 of them are living in the US. Every single day a little girl is subjected to this cruel procedure. It needs to stop now! Governments need to invest in educational programmes and inform people that female genital mutilation is affecting young girls in our communities!

On the morning of the 3rd of April, 2017, a slum in Susan’s Bay near Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, was set on fire by strangers. The fire forced 85 families to leave their homes. Mary’s family was one of them.

The residents survived, but lost all their belongings.
Mary lost her only toy, a small doll, which she got for Christmas from our Desert Flower Foundation team, to the fire.

Little Mary, 8 years old, was already on her way to school when the firestorm destroyed her family’s modest hut.

With the generous support of our donors, the Desert Flower Foundation is paying Mary’s school fees since 2015 and enables her to attend school every day.

Mary is a good student and loves going to school.
School is the only safe place for young Mary.

In the slums there is terror and violence.

A little girl’s life is worth nothing.

Crime and violence, especially to girls and women are ubiquitous.

Even small girls are victims of cruel rapes. Many children are forced to prostitution. It is a living hell.

For Mary, her two sisters and the many little girls in the slums of Susan’s Bay the school is a place of hope for a better and safer life.